State Web Accessibility Laws in the US: California, New York, Colorado and More

As of November 2026, no U.S. state has a statute that sets a technical web accessibility standard for private businesses. State law still matters in two ways. Civil rights laws in states such as California and New York let people sue businesses over inaccessible websites, and California adds minimum damages of $4,000 per violation. And many states require WCAG for their own agencies, public schools and, in some cases, the contractors who build their websites.

Last reviewed: November 15, 2026. This article explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice.

State laws at a glance
State and law	Who it covers	What it requires
California, Unruh Civil Rights Act	Businesses	An ADA violation is also an Unruh violation; minimum damages of $4,000 per violation
California, Government Code 7405, 11135 and 11546.7	State agencies	Follow Section 508; WCAG at Level AA; homepage certification every two years
New York, State and New York City Human Rights Laws	Businesses	Disability discrimination claims, including over websites
New York, State Technology Law 103-d	State agencies	Most current WCAG at Level AA, to the extent practicable; progress report by January 1, 2027 if not compliant
New York, Executive Law 170-f	State contractors and vendors	Websites provided under a state contract follow the most current WCAG
Colorado, HB21-1110	State and local governments	WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA; accessibility statement; court remedies
Illinois, IITAA	State government, including public universities	WCAG 2.1 Level AA since June 24, 2024
Missouri, Act Against Abusive Website or Web Content Access Litigation	Defendants in website lawsuits	No standard; a 90 day safe harbor against abusive suits, since August 28, 2026

Does any state require WCAG for private websites?

No. We checked California, New York, Colorado, Illinois, Texas, Minnesota, Washington, New Jersey and Missouri: their technical standards apply to public bodies, schools or state contractors, not to businesses in general. Bills that would have changed this have not passed:

Businesses are therefore judged under the ADA itself and under state civil rights laws. In practice WCAG is the yardstick: the Department of Justice names WCAG as helpful guidance, and every state standard for public bodies in this article is built on it. Read more in ADA website compliance in 2026.

California

The Unruh Civil Rights Act

Civil Code section 51(f) makes any violation of the ADA also a violation of the Unruh Act. Section 52(a) then sets damages of at least $4,000 for each offense, up to three times actual damages, plus attorney's fees. The Disabled Persons Act (Civil Code sections 54 to 54.3) also incorporates the ADA but provides a lower minimum of $1,000 per violation, and a plaintiff must choose between the two acts.

California courts have drawn these lines for websites:

Two ways to win. A plaintiff can recover by showing a violation of the ADA, or by showing intentional discrimination. A claim based on the ADA does not require proof of intent.
Websites connected to a physical place. A business with stores, hotels, restaurants or branches can face an ADA based Unruh claim over its website.
Online only businesses. In Martinez v. Cot'n Wash, Inc. (2022), the Court of Appeal held that it cannot read the ADA's "place of public accommodation" as including retail websites without any connection to a physical space. The plaintiff then has to prove intentional discrimination, and the discriminatory effect of a neutral policy is not enough on its own. Federal courts elsewhere are split on this question.
A real intent to use the service. In Thurston v. Omni Hotels (2021), the plaintiff had to show a bona fide intent to book a room, following the California Supreme Court's decision in White v. Square (2019).

The special protections California built for construction related accessibility claims, such as the rules for high frequency litigants, are tied to the physical condition of a property and do not cover website claims.

California state agencies

Government Code section 7405 directs state entities to follow Section 508, and section 11135 prohibits disability discrimination in state funded programs. Since AB 434 (2017), section 11546.7 requires each state agency's director and chief information officer to post a signed certification of website accessibility on the agency's homepage every two years. The State Administrative Manual sets WCAG 2.0 or a later version at Level AA as the minimum, and the Department of Technology's own certification cites WCAG 2.1 Level AA.

New York

Human Rights Laws

The New York State Human Rights Law (Executive Law section 296) and the New York City Human Rights Law prohibit disability discrimination by places of public accommodation. Neither text mentions websites, but both are used in website claims. The New York City Commission on Human Rights says in its December 2025 guidance that "businesses that use websites should ensure that their websites are designed to be compatible with screen-reading technology."

State agencies and contractors

State Technology Law 103-d. Each state agency must, to the extent practicable, make websites it creates or changes in form or function conform to the most current version of WCAG at Level AA. An agency that cannot comply must publish a written progress report by January 1, 2027 and update it every year.
Executive Law 170-f. Every contractor, subcontractor, vendor or consultant providing services under a state contract must make the websites it provides for those services conform to the most current version of WCAG.

Colorado

HB21-1110, signed in June 2021, requires state and local governments in Colorado to make their information and communication technology accessible. It covers every state or local government and every department, agency, special district or other instrumentality, but not private businesses.

Standard. The rules of the Office of Information Technology (8 CCR 1501-11) require WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA for digital content.
Dates. The rules apply to technology in active use on or after July 1, 2024. HB24-1454 extended protection from liability to July 1, 2025 for entities that showed good faith efforts, posted quarterly progress reports and set up a process for people to seek redress. The compliance date itself did not move.
How to comply. An entity can comply in several ways, for example by publishing an accessibility plan that shows good faith progress. Every entity must also post a Technology Accessibility Statement.
Remedies. A person can go to court, which can order the entity to remove barriers and award actual monetary damages or a statutory fine for each violation.

Other states with standards for public bodies

More state digital accessibility standards
State	Who it covers	Standard
Illinois (Information Technology Accessibility Act)	State government entities, including public universities; not local governments, school districts, community colleges or private organizations	WCAG 2.1 Level AA, in force since June 24, 2024
Texas (Government Code chapter 2054, subchapter M)	State agencies, including universities	Rules of the Department of Information Resources (1 TAC chapters 206 and 213), built on Section 508 and WCAG
Minnesota (Statutes 16E.03, subdivision 9)	Executive branch state agencies	Section 508 and WCAG 2.0; the chief information officer may adopt later revisions
Washington (WaTech standard USER-01-01-S)	State agencies	WCAG 2.2 Level AA since July 1, 2026 (an agency standard, not a statute)
New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 18A:36-35.1)	Public school districts and charter schools, among others	Current WCAG at Level AA, with an assurance statement every two years

State and local governments everywhere also fall under the federal ADA Title II web rule, which requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA from April 26, 2027 or April 26, 2028.

Missouri's law against abusive website lawsuits

Missouri took a different route. Its Act Against Abusive Website or Web Content Access Litigation (section 537.1250, in force since August 28, 2026) sets no technical standard. It lets the attorney general, or a Missouri resident or registered business that has been sued, ask a court to decide whether a website accessibility suit is abusive, meaning that its main purpose is to extract a payment because defense is costly. A defendant that receives written notice and in good faith starts substantial steps to fix the problem within 90 days gets a rebuttable presumption that a later claim is abusive. The presumption does not apply if the barrier is not fixed.

Where website lawsuits are filed

Counts differ by method, so always check what a number includes:

The gap between the two counts shows why state law matters: thousands of claims are filed in state courts, which federal counts do not include.

What this means for your business

Aim for WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 Level AA. No state mandates it for businesses, but it is the benchmark of every public sector law above and the guidance DOJ names. WCAG 2.2 Level AA covers the most ground.
Fix the journeys that matter first. Search, product pages, sign up, booking, checkout and contact forms are where barriers cost customers and where claims usually start.
Combine automated and manual testing. An automated scan with continuous monitoring catches repeated issues and regressions; a manual WCAG audit covers what tools cannot judge, such as keyboard use, screen reader output and form errors.
Keep records. Audit reports, fixes and monitoring results show good faith, and Missouri's safe harbor depends on acting within 90 days of a notice.
Answer demand letters quickly and with counsel. Ask what barrier is alleged, check it and fix it.
Do not rely on an overlay. Conformance depends on your code and content. See what accessibility widgets and overlays can and cannot do.

If you sell to states, cities or universities

Public buyers pass their obligations on to vendors. New York writes the most current WCAG into the duties of state contractors, Colorado's public entities must make the technology they buy accessible, and Illinois, Texas and other states apply their standards to the software their agencies purchase. Expect accessibility clauses and requests for an Accessibility Conformance Report; see our guide to Section 508 and the VPAT.

FAQ

Does any state require private websites to meet WCAG?

Not by statute, as of November 2026. State civil rights laws still apply to websites, and California's Unruh Act attaches minimum damages to ADA violations.

How much can a website accessibility lawsuit cost in California?

The Unruh Act provides at least $4,000 per violation, up to three times actual damages, plus the plaintiff's attorney's fees. Defense costs and the cost of fixing the site come on top.

Can an online only business be sued under California's Unruh Act?

Yes, but after Martinez v. Cot'n Wash (2022) a plaintiff cannot rely on an ADA violation alone and must prove intentional discrimination. Businesses with a physical location can face ADA based claims without proof of intent.

Does Colorado's accessibility law apply to businesses?

No. It applies to state and local governments and their agencies and special districts. Vendors are affected when they sell technology to those entities.

Which WCAG version do state laws use?

It varies: WCAG 2.0 in Minnesota's statute, WCAG 2.1 in Colorado and Illinois, the most current version in New York and WCAG 2.2 for Washington state agencies since July 2026.

Sources

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